TWSW General Meeting - 20th March 2019

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Yes - a weekday not a Saturday. And not at the start of March either!

1. Whiteball tunnel is closed for 3 weeks and 4 weekends right across the usual date.

2. The TWSW^» (TravelWatch SouthWest - website) board wants to encourage more industry, planning, council, professional attendees in addition to transport user and specialist interest group representatives to their general meetings.   We have a number of good friends who are professional attendees and who have put themselves out to come along in weekend / family time - but we are aware of other who's family commitments are such that they cannot and we want to offer them an opportunity too. The same issue applies to some speakers we would like to talk to us.  We also looked at the profile and potential attendance of everyone who came along last month (6th October) and have concluded that almost everyone will be just as able / likely to come midweek as Saturday.

3. A couple of weeks later makes it slightly less likely that awful weather will force a postponement or cancellation.

[ChrisB]

Would have been good to have got this on the TWSW^» (TravelWatch SouthWest - website) website early enough (like January) - which is where I've been keeping an eye for news - in order to get the cheapest Advance fares when they first became available.

Being a weekday, arrivals into TAU^» (Taunton - next trains) from the East for a 1030 arrival are far more expensive (at least +£20 each way) - something I think TWSW didn't take into consideration for those paying their own fares.

Now I have a diary clash too from not knowing - and I got no alert on this new topic when you posted it back in November although I'm subscribed to this board for these.

[grahame]

I'm sorry that the alert system here appears to have failed in this key case; hopefully it should be more robust with later software later this year.  There have been occasional reports of emails not coming through from the forum but it's far from clear to me what proportion of these (if any) are forum software failures and what proportion are due to the messages being spam trapped either at intermediate mail machines before they arrive at member's online mil boxes, or in local software.  Sadly, notifications / alerts are naturally things that arrive out of the blue, so saying "check your spam folder" is pretty useless advise in this circumstance - especially if you get as much spam as I do.

TravelWatch SouthWest covers Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and points SouthWest from there.  There was discussion at the TWSW^» (TravelWatch SouthWest - website) board meeting covering fare and cost issues from locations within the area covered to get to the meeting.  It's all to do with fares, so it's complicated, of course ... but looking at the Berks and Hants at the most easterly point that Taunton trains call at within the sphere of interest, a return from Pewsey is £33.80 any time and £27.20 off peak ... and even then I think the off peak ticket is valid on the 08:27 from Westbury as the Ts and Cs seem to click in at 08:22.  More complex for Cheltenham Spa, but I suspect that TWSW attendees typically split at Temple Meads anyway, as we do from Swindon.   For rail industry and central government attendees at TWSW from outside the area, this mid week experiment is muchly designed to help them be able to attend without interfering with personal time, and that saving of personal space / time may come at an additional cost to their employer - though many of the rail industry people will have a staff pass so there's no pricing issue.

Will check back on website.  Know it was here (and in the diary ... on the top of every page these days, with 20.3 there for about the last 2 weeks), pretty sure it was Facebooked and Tweeted, certainly not been a secret. But perhaps the TWSW has missed the web site, or hasn't highlighted it as appropriate there.  Looking into it.

[ChrisB]

Front page currently of the website (still)

Early March 2019 – General Meeting – date to be announced soon; we are aware of closure of railway from Taunton to Tiverton until 10th March.

[grahame]

Front page currently of the website (still)

Early March 2019 – General Meeting – date to be announced soon; we are aware of closure of railway from Taunton to Tiverton until 10th March.

I am able (and have) put a 'patch' in there, and it now points to 20th March; I will let [] know what I have done.  Normally invites, etc, go out between 3 and 4 weeks ahead - I guess we have slipped up here in that three to four weeks ahead of the new date is perilously close to the old date!

[ChrisB]

Hmmm - the old date (8th) is less than two weeks from the new date (13 days)

Three weeks is next Wedenesday....four weeks is tomorrow.

[grahame]

Hmmm - the old date (8th) is less than two weeks from the new date (13 days)

Three weeks is next Wedenesday....four weeks is tomorrow.

"Normal" day would have been Saturday 2nd ... Invites should be by the weekend, though I am a small cog in that particular wheel, so can't promise "will".

[ChrisB]

yep, my bad calendar look up.

[grahame]

Bookings for this event are now open via Eventbrite - [[here]] and I would encourage all regular attendees and and other intereted group representatives to sign up - via this link if possible please.

TravelWatch SouthWest looks to encourage new groups to join us at our twice-yearly general meetings - an excellent opportunity to network with other groups and industry and local government representatives all of whom have a common aim of improving public and sustainable transport.

We are also encouraging groups to bring along one of their newer and upcoming members to help us move forward into the future  with a strong refreshing of membership and ideas.  Transport and network planning and partnership will be just as important in the future as it is today, and we want to nurture the young shoots that will grow into the team of the future.

For those of you who are independent campaigners, I would encourage you to get involved and sign up too. From personal experience, I (and other TWSW^» (TravelWatch SouthWest - website) board members) know of the utter frustration of early days campaigning where there is clearly a great deal of knowledge 'out there' that would be so valuable to you, yet you've not yet earned your colours to be able to tap into it.  Please please ask and you will be very very welcome at TWSW.

Having encouraged existing groups, new groups, a recent member and independent campaigners, I am going to add that TWSW   general meetings are very much set up for one or two people from lots of groups and organisations to get together. We are not well placed / able to accept large(r) parties from a single organisation. Changes are that (if asked) one of our directors may be able to come and speak to your group.  There are eight highly regarded directors with very different backgrounds, or if appropriate I may be able to speak to group(s) more easily this year. 

[ChrisB]

I am unable to attend unfortunately - how does one register apologies?

[grahame]

I am unable to attend unfortunately - how does one register apologies?

I would suggest an email to the secretary in the 'normal' way to send a formal apology. If informal is OK for you, I'll send a quote of this thread through.

Using Eventbrite doesn't preclude email signups / apologies / queries - but having a bulk come through that way helps keep the task of correlating and managing to a reasonable level and allows more time to sort out the inevitable selection of special cases and queries a disparate bunch of user groups, local government and public transport attendees throws up.

[ChrisB]

I'll do as you suggest once the formal invite circulates, thanks

[grahame]

Some more on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/travelwatchsouthwest/posts/951677991710143

Official invite / sign up via

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/travelwatch-southwest-march-public-transport-stakeholder-meeting-tickets-57032058422

New groups / 2nd person from existing groups (we're looking for new blood as many of the regulars are getting 12 months older every year!), public transport and local authority representatives, rail ministers and shadow rail ministers and spokesepeople all welcome.   Also specialist groups who need to travel or for whom travel is important, and people campaigning on transport on their own.   

[broadgage]

As this is in Taunton, is refreshment to be taken afterwards at the Plough, or other suitable place ?

[grahame]

As this is in Taunton, is refreshment to be taken afterwards at the Plough, or other suitable place ?

Sadly, I'll be dashing back to a Melksham Rail User Group meeting that evening which promises to be somewhat lively!